Scripture: Ezekiel 38 v 1 - 6: "And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee."
The Prophet Ezekiel was told by God to prophesy against the nations at war against Israel. His prophecy was aimed at a time far into the future when the world turns against Israel.
The warning is that Almighty God is against the enemies of Israel, always has been, but they are too blinded by hatred and belief that their reasons justify the destruction of Israel. They cannot comprehend that Israel has an everlasting covenant with the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, that can never be broken by Him no matter how badly the Jews behave. They deny that the Jews were a people 3000 years ago yet recent archaeology confirms an Pharoah Amenhotep inscribed tablet about a people whose God was Yahweh.
That the name of Persia is mentioned as one of the chief enemies of Israel is important in this prophetic warning tells the truth of the matter. Persia is of course now called Iran, a strictly Islamic nation. However in recent years the number of converts from Islam to Christianity has increased dramatically which has enraged the Ayatollah and his followers.
They have banded with Russia against the Ukrainians, supplying weapons, mainly drones, which is a strong weapon in this invasion. Birds of a feather flock together so China and North Korea radical communistic countries are allied with them. South Africa has mounted a case against Israel with the ICJ, which has been followed by another from Indonesia to remove Israel as illegal occupiers of Palestine.
The Lord's word to them is....."I will turn you back and put hooks in your jaws". These nations are sabre-rattling for a major war. East against West. Iran has funded the impoverished African National Conference ruling party of South Africa.
They have stripped this country of its assets. They are like locusts. All of a sudden 17 South African young military men are stranded in the Donbas, Ukraine, having been falsely recruited by Russia. They were lured to be trained as bodyguards, but Putin will use any means to feed non-Russians into the Ukrainian killing fields. When there is a Russian election coming up he must be worried about explaining the huge toll to potential voters.
The Iranians also funded Hamas for the October 7th savage attacks on civilian Israeli families. The IDF and Mossad dealt them a reciprocal blow with assistance from the USA.
Our God has put hooks in their jaws. Silenced their arrogance. And millions of Iranians are defying these interlopers by turning to Jesus Christ as their Saviour causing 50,000 mosques to be closed.
This will not be good for the enemies of Israel. They want to annihilate Israel from the River to the Sea. They do not want any 2 State solution. They want the whole of Palestine back. No more Jews left alive. They will escalate to every country that harbours Jews. They are unmindful of God's Word that says those who bless Israel will be blessed, those who curse Israel will be cursed.
Iran will be among those crying I Ran....away!
This applies to whole nations and individuals. The ditch they dig for Israel they will fall into themselves. Some say that God's covenant with Israel ended with the birth of Christianity. That Christians are now the Inheritors of the promises made by God to her. Our God will never break His promises to Israel. He brought her back to her own land 75 years ago and has blessed her continuously.
The love of Christians towards Israel is another sign of God's continued favour for her. Let us remember that the Church is the Body of Christ, Jesus is the Head of the Church. Together, immediately after the Rapture, the Head and Body will be reunited to make the complete Bridegroom. This is the part of the 7 day Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
John the Baptist acknowledged it in John 3 v 29 - 31: "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all."
The Bridegroom is Jesus Christ, the Bride is Israel. Satan is desperate to destroy her utterly before Jesus comes back. Satan knows how close his rival is to finishing this evil plan and consigning him and his demons, and those he has turned against Israel, into the Lake of Fire. He is trying to get ahead of the Lord's day of revenge by destroying all peace on Earth.
At the time of Armageddon The Bridegroom will rescue His Bride. And the Spirit and the Bride say Come Lord Jesus! She will be with Him as His Wife for the rest of the Marriage Supper. The Covenants, the promises, the love for the Apple of His eye is with Him at last. He paid the ransom with His own life. For His Bride and His Body before the foundation of the world. Revelation 13 v 8.
1 Timothy 2 v 4 - 6: "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
Satan and all opponents will have hooks in their jaws. This sounds like a power from on high that will painfully control them and silence their mobs of Islamic terrorists with their violence and insults. It will be enough to bring a period of calm and sanity to Israel, and for Christians to evangelize the sinners of this world.
The end times prophecies are unfolding. The Lord says to us, Fear Not! He is coming soon. These end times will be very exciting and also intense. Stay under the protection of Jesus by living a truly righteous life. Avoid sin of any kind, be obedient to the Lord, pray without ceasing.
Prayer: Heavenly Father Your Word is being fulfilled and we see it visibly on TV and other social media. We are comforted that You are in control of all situations that are unfolding according to your prophets of old. Help us to keep the faith, walk in the light and fear nothing. We are excited that this onslaught of Satan is nearly over. Jesus is coming soon. We rejoice in the name of Jesus. Amen.